Stygian

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

  “Ooo, that sounds so impressive.”

  “Glad you think so.” He glanced past her to the tub. “Is it supposed to do that?”

  “Do wha—” She gasped as she realized it was spilling over the edge. “Ah, crap! You distracted me!” She ran to turn the water off and grab towels to mop up the overflow.

  Urian took a moment to admire the view of her bare bottom as she bent over to clean the mess. Damn, that woman had the one of the nicest asses …

  Trying not to think about it, he went to help her mop up some of the water. But that was as useless as trying to resist her. The moment he was near her and his hand accidentally brushed hers, he was lost and he knew it.

  But then that had happened the moment he’d first seen her, when his father had sent him in to slaughter her and her sisters.

  Just like now—one second they were cleaning water off the floor, the next Urian was in the tub, naked and holding her as he fed and cradled her in his arms in the warm water. He didn’t know what it was about Phoebe, but she held magick over him.

  Sighing in contentment, Urian savored the sensation of her fingers playing in his wet hair while she held him nestled between her bare thighs and breasts.

  “Urian?”

  Blood-drunk, he could barely recognize the sound of his own name on her lips. “Hmmm?”

  “Would you let me make love to you tonight?”

  Urian licked her neck as he struggled for sense and control. He wanted to deny her. They were playing a dangerous game that would blow up in both their faces. He knew it.

  It wasn’t fair to either of them.

  His father would kill him. But his gaze drifted over her glistening body—down her damp, golden hair that curled around her impish face. Her creamy, bare shoulders where droplets of water caught and glittered like jewels on her alabaster skin. And those breasts that begged for a lover’s touch …

  He was damned and he knew it.

  “Phoebe,” he breathed. “What if—”

  “Shh.” She kissed him to cut off his words. “Not another word.” She raked him with a ravenous hunger in her eyes. “I promise you, I won’t change my mind.”

  Maybe not, but Urian knew this was a profoundly bad idea. In every sense of the word. If he had an ounce of decency in him, he’d get up and leave.

  But then, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever been noble or decent. If he had, those traits had died a long time ago.

  And before he could find some semblance of decency inside him, she became treacherous to his cause and reached down to run her hand over his chest, across his own taut nipple, dragging her nails ever so gently over his flesh. A thousand chills erupted in the wake of her caress, burning him from the inside out.

  She moved her hand from his lips, then dipped her head to where she could draw his nipple into her mouth and suckle it ever so tenderly.

  And by that, he was undone.

  Urian moaned from the pleasure she gave him. Especially when she dipped her hand beneath the water and cupped him there with gentle fingers that danced and played with the tenderest part of his body.

  Dizzy and on fire, he was past the point of rational thought. All he could think about was finally sating the deep hunger that had gnawed at him incessantly since the moment he had first seen her on that fire escape and she primly left him there.

  Cupping her face in his hands, he tilted her head up so that he could claim her lips with his own. Brushing his fangs with her tongue, Phoebe moaned into his mouth as she continued to stroke his swollen cock with her hand.

  She feared she might faint as her head swam from the taste of her dangerous Daimon, from the silken feel of his rigidness under her fingers. Never had she imagined what a man would feel like. He was so strangely soft and hard at the same time. Like velvet stretched over steel.

  “You had this all planned, didn’t you?” he asked with a light, humorous note in his voice.

  She nodded.

  “What if I had turned you away?”

  “I wouldn’t let you,” she whispered, then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head to hers for another long, deep, and satisfying kiss.

  Urian didn’t disappoint her as he deepened his passion and kissed her until she lost her breath from it. She sighed in contentment and ran her hands down his lean, hard back.

  Oh, but the man felt good and he tasted even better.

  He left her lips and trailed a scorching kiss to her neck, where he suckled and teased her flesh with his fangs and tongue. Phoebe arched her back, writhing in pleasure as his hands skimmed over her body. Down her arms, over her waist to where he cupped her hips in his hands.

  As he moved toward her breasts, she stopped him. He looked up with a frown.

  “This is my fantasy,” Phoebe said with a smile. Then she forced him to the opposite end of the oversized tub and straddled his waist.

  Stunned and excited, Urian stared up in awe of her as he felt her hairs gently teasing the flesh of his belly. “And just what does this so-called fantasy of yours include? Hot wax? Whips? Handcuffs?”

  Blushing at his suggestions, she dipped her head toward his and instead of giving him the kiss he expected, she lowered her mouth on his throat.

  Urian tensed as he felt her fangs scraping his skin. “Don’t bite me, love.”

  “I know. Relax. I promise I won’t break the skin.”

  Forcing himself to trust her, Urian groaned at the heat of her mouth as she slowly explored his body with her lips. Her tongue darted over the stubble of his neck, teasing and tormenting him with wave after wave of pleasure.

  She leaned forward until her breasts were flattened against his chest. Then she moved lower. Slowly, thoroughly, she covered his chest and arms with her scorching kisses.

  Phoebe savored the sounds of Urian’s pleasure. She should probably be worried about her actions, given that he was a Daimon, but she had made her mind up. Her life had a ticking time bomb on it. Unlike her sisters, she didn’t want to get married and have kids to give them this miserable life that had been theirs.

  Running scared. Dreading every day and night. Always looking over their shoulders as they were uprooted and relocated because someone or something was trying to kill them. In spite of all their father’s money, their life had been misery and fear, and she’d hated every fucking minute of it.

  Until Urian.

  For the first time in her life, she had happiness. Someone she loved, who loved her. With him, she felt like she belonged. And when they were apart, all she did was count down the heartbeats until she saw him again.

  She didn’t live when he was gone. She endured.

  And she was over it.

  No, Urian was what she wanted and she was going to do this. Completely and without reservations. Before this night ended, she wanted to know him from the top of his head all the way down to the bottom of his Daimon toes.

  That thought foremost in her mind, she began draining the water so that she could dip her mouth to the flesh of his hip bone. Urian sucked his breath in sharply between his teeth as he quivered beneath her. Phoebe laughed as she continued her relentless exploration of him.

  She was going to claim him tonight. And she made a vow to herself that when he left here after this, he would forever be hers and no one else’s.

  And it must have been working since a second later his eyes flashed red and he transported them from the tub to the bed.

  Phoebe looked up with a startled gasp. “How do you do that?”

  He shrugged. “A lot of practice and a little prayer that I don’t fuck it up.”

  Laughing, she returned to nibbling that succulent hip bone and exploring a six-pack of defined abs she didn’t think a man could have unless they were airbrushed in by an artist.

  Urian buried his hand in Phoebe’s hair as he fought the urge to take control. He wanted to be inside her so badly that he could barely stand it. It was an overwhelming craving. But he refused to take this from her, especially because it was her

first time and he wanted it to be as special as she was. She meant so much more to him than his base urges. So he would hold back, even if it killed him.

  And the way he felt, right now, it damn well might. Because this was hard. And getting harder by the minute.

  Along with a certain piece of his anatomy …

  Curious and sweet, she moved her hand again to cup him as she explored his body with the inquisitiveness that was part science experiment and passion. He’d never had a lover be so strangely attentive to his body. Almost as if she wanted to commit it to memory.

  And then to his utter amazement, she moved her head and took him fully into her mouth.

  With a fierce, deep growl, Urian shook all over as her tongue toyed with him. Oh dear gods! Panting and weak, he stared in awe of her golden head buried between his thighs.

  To hell with this, he couldn’t take it anymore.

  Phoebe looked up in surprise as Urian shifted his body. What was he doing?

  With a devilish grin, he stretched out beside her and positioned his hips even with her head. She was completely baffled by what he was doing and what he intended.

  His blue eyes turned warm and wicked. “Don’t stop, love.” Before she could respond, he nudged her thighs apart and buried his lips against her.

  With a cry of supreme pleasure, she closed her eyes as he slid his tongue deep inside her. Dear God in heaven! It was incredulous. Never had she experienced anything like this! Forget the crap her sister read and kept shoving in her face! Nia was an idiot! Cassandra an even bigger one! They didn’t know anything about men! And she’d never listen to them again.

  Her head spinning from it, she opened her legs wider. He took her invitation. Wanting to return the favor for him, she dipped her head and went back to what she’d been doing because if this felt half as good to him …

  Yeah, she wanted to keep him happy and make sure he never belonged to any woman but her again.

  Urian’s head spun as he again felt her mouth and tongue close around him. He cupped her hips to him as he ran his tongue over her and felt her quiver in his arms. His little angel was incredible. And to think he’d actually considered killing her.

  You were an idiot!

  Yeah, he was. But then he’d never had a lot of brains to begin with. For so long now, he’d been running on empty. Just doing whatever his father told him. A mindless tool that killed on command.

  He’d become the very thing Sheba had wanted him to be.

  An attack dog.

  Urian Deathbringer. Thánatago.

  But with Phoebe Peters, he was something more. Something better.

  For the first time since Xyn’s death, he felt alive again. He found a reason to breathe. To get up in the evening and to let himself feel real emotions.

  He wasn’t sure if he should be grateful or curse her for it.

  Phoebe couldn’t believe what was happening to her. Where she found the courage to do these things with a cold-blooded Daimon, she didn’t know. She’d been told her entire life to run from creatures like Urian. That they would kill her and her family.

  Yet she’d never felt safer.

  More wanted or beautiful.

  The heat of his mouth seared her as he teased and suckled. And even more incredible was the feel of his fingers plunging inside her. In and out and around. Her body quivered and jerked as her head reeled from the sensations.

  She closed her eyes. It was too much for her. And just as she was sure she would die from it, her body exploded with more pleasure than she would have thought anyone could ever feel.

  Throwing her head back, she screamed out in release as the entire world spun around. Never, never had she experienced such a thing.

  And still his tongue tormented her and made it even more intense and incredible. “Oh God, Urian!” she gasped.

  He let out an evil laugh as he kissed her thigh. “Don’t think for one minute that I’m done with you, agapi mou.”

  “Agah who?”

  He laughed. “Uh-gah-pay moo. My love.”

  Closing her eyes, she savored every syllable. “I love your accent so much. You speak and I melt!”

  He rose up between her legs and positioned his body over her. Phoebe reached up and buried her hands in his hair as he used his knees to spread her legs wider.

  Cupping her face with his hand, Urian kissed her tenderly, then gently plunged himself deep inside.

  Phoebe froze as pain overrode her pleasure. “Uri?”

  “Shh, agapi mou,” he whispered against her lips. “Give it a second.”

  He leaned back ever so slightly and reached his hand down between their bodies so that he could stroke her and help her focus on something else.

  Phoebe bit her lip as she quickly forgot the pain while he gently toyed with her body, building her pleasure again.

  Instinctively, she rubbed herself against him, impaling herself even more deeply than before.

  Urian sighed in pleasure as she began moving against him. “That’s it,” he breathed, closing his eyes to savor the warm, tight heat of her body around his.

  His breathing ragged, he let her take control of the moment as she milked his body with hers.

  Opening his eyes, he watched the wonder play out on her face. Yeah, she liked being in charge. Probably because she’d had so little control over anything else in her life. Her parents never let her have any decision. About anything. Even her foods were tasted before they trusted her to eat them.

  She’d lived her entire life in a vacuum, and under scrutiny.

  So he let her have this one. Smiling, Urian rolled over without withdrawing from her.

  In awe of this new vantage point, Phoebe groaned as she found herself on top of him. She wiggled her hips at the strange sensation of his body inside hers and between her legs.

  His eyes dark and gentle, he reached up and cupped her breasts in his hands. Smiling even wider, she covered his hands with her own, then lifted her body up, drawing herself down his cock.

  And then his hand returned to cup her between her legs as she rode him hard and fast.

  And this time when she came, he joined her with a deep guttural growl that left her a little scared for a second. But after a second, she realized that he wasn’t going to harm her and she relaxed again.

  Sated and exhausted, Phoebe stretched out on his chest and simply enjoyed the feel of his arms around her as his breath stirred her hair.

  Urian leaned his head back, shaken by what had occurred between them. Her passion humbled him. But worse, he was far from sated. If anything, he wanted her more than he ever had before. Because now that he’d tasted the Katateros that was Phoebe, he knew she truly had no equal.

  And that scared the Kalosis out of him.

  Phoebe lifted her head up to look down at him. “Is something wrong?” she asked, her brows drawn together into a deep V.

  Shaking his head, he ran his hands over her back. It wasn’t really a lie.

  In truth, things had never been more right.

  And likewise, they had never, ever been more wrong. Because in the back of his mind, he couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that if his father ever learned about this, he would kill them both.

  August 8, 1990

  They were going to kill Phoebe. Urian was frantic to get to her and warn her. He’d been trying to call her, but some asshole was on the phone and wouldn’t get off the line. He’d tried to have the operator break through it and whoever it was had rudely refused.

  “It’s not an emergency. Tell my sister’s boyfriend he can wait.”

  When he got his hands on Cassandra, he was going to beat the hell out of her.

  And since he was trapped until nightfall, there was nothing he could do. He didn’t dare go to Apollymi or try to use her mirror for fear of her telling his father, either.

  Damn it. This had been the longest day of his life. By the time the sun set and he could leave, he felt as if he’d been flayed alive.

  He headed straight to her apartment. Normally, he’d never approach her door. He called from a pay phone with a predesigned ring code and she’d come out to meet him.

  But he was too scared to wait.

  As he ran down her street, a car passed him and someone inside it waved at him.

  Too late, he realized it was Phoebe.

  Panting and terrified, he stopped dead in his tracks. Phoebe! he projected with his thoughts. Stop the car! Get ou—The car exploded in a bright burst of light, raining shrapnel through the neighborhood and knocking him from his feet.

  Temporarily blinded, and with his ears ringing, Urian lay on the sidewalk stunned.

  No … No! That didn’t just happen. It couldn’t have.

  His heart pounded so fast and furiously that he couldn’t breathe. Pain and grief racked him. They left him paralyzed and shredded.

  Until he heard the tiniest whimpering sound.

  Phoebe?

  He wiped at his tears and teleported to the wreckage, not giving a fuck who saw him. His stomach heaved at the sight of the mangled bodies. Please don’t be my Phoebe …

  “Uri …”

  He turned to find her a few feet away. His world stopped as he realized that the blast had thrown her from the car, into a nearby pole. He ran to her side and knelt down to pull her into his arms. She was bleeding profusely.

  While it might not have killed her on detonation, it was killing her slowly. There was no way she’d survive. There was too much damage. Every Daimon instinct he had told him that. He could hear her vitals slowing. It was what allowed him to know the precise moment when he could take over a soul to feed on it.

  “Phoebe?”

  She was so weak, she could barely focus on his face.

  “Marry me?”

  With the tiniest laugh, she nodded and gasped.

  Knowing she was too weak to bite him on her own, Urian used his fangs to rip into his own wrist and held it to her lips. He lifted her up so that she could drink his blood.

  At first, he thought he’d lost her. That he’d waited too long or not gotten there in time.

  But after a few seconds, he felt her grip tighten. Felt her lips strengthen as she sucked and licked harder. His arm began to glow. Too late, he remembered that he’d had the power to save her life without resorting to this.

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